Chapter 826: Fortune

Chapter 826: Qi Yun

Under Li Huowang’s gaze, a carriage approached from a distant crossroad.

The clinking of its wheels mingled with the faint wind, and the ornate, sumptuous carriage arrived as if riding upon air.

Eight sleek, glossy bay horses trotted gracefully in small, precise steps, pulling the carriage steadily. Just by looking at them, one could tell that this visitor was no ordinary man.

When the curtain of the carriage was lifted, revealing Xuan Pin, Li Huowang’s heart leapt with joy. He immediately released his grip on the hilt of his sword and leaped onto the carriage in two or three strides.

But when he saw who else was inside, his face instantly turned cold. The carriage held not only Xuan Pin of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau but also Emperor Gao Zhijian of Great Liang.

"Sit," Xuan Pin tugged lightly at Li Huowang, urging him to take his seat.

Observing the two men facing each other directly, Xuan Pin leaned back and vanished without a word into the interior of the carriage canopy.

"Senior Brother Li, you’ve driven up the grain prices in Shangjing," said Gao Zhijian.

"Oh? Is it not because of His Majesty’s hundred and eight dishes that they rose?"

Gao Zhijian made no defense, and silence stretched between them.

When they heard the commotion outside the canopy, Gao Zhijian reached out and opened the window. They had already returned to Shangjing.

"In the past, to suppress the Sect of Law, Great Liang spent heavily and exhausted its people. Now, with fewer hours in the day, the lunar calendar is useless, crops are hard to grow, and your constant buying of grain for Great Qi has made even the granaries helpless."

To the left stood a grain shop, where commoners came and went, sighing and cursing.

"At least they’re alive, at least they don’t eat people," compared to Great Qi now, Great Liang was like paradise on earth.

"It's true they haven't starved to death, but Senior Brother Li, don’t forget—Great Liang can’t afford to lose people," Gao Zhijian closed the window, and the wheels rolled once more.

After a while, the carriage stopped again. The window opened, and the street corners were filled with emaciated beggars.

Their limbs were thin as chopsticks, their bellies bloated, resembling the hungry ghosts from opera.

They lay scattered on the ground, motionless. Some of their bodies were already rotting.

An old man walked by, pulling a cart, taking those whose bodies were most decayed and preparing to drag them away to be burned.

"Senior Brother Li, do you know that people aren’t born beggars? In the past, Great Liang didn’t have so many beggars—they were just ordinary citizens."

"Grain prices are the foundation of the people. When grain prices rise, everything else follows. As things get more expensive, beggars multiply."

Looking out the window, Li Huowang spoke, "Alright, I understand. I’ll go find grain elsewhere."

"Senior Brother Li, are you thinking about grain? Which is more important to you—Great Qi or Great Liang?" Gao Zhijian leaned forward, his expression grave.

"Why must we choose one over the other? Why can’t both sides survive? Why can’t they be equally important?"

"No! Senior Brother Li, haven’t you ever thought why the Astronomical Bureau imposed such harsh punishments—to exile the writers of false histories to three clans?"

"And that Zhuge Yuan—why does the Astronomical Bureau fear that storyteller so much? It’s because Great Qi and Great Liang are divided by land."

"A thousand years ago, when Great Qi fell, it was Great Liang; when Great Qi survived, it was Great Qi. If Great Qi truly existed, then Great Liang is false. That is the celestial qi yun!"

The canopy fell silent, save for the breaths of Li Huowang and Gao Zhijian.

Gao Zhijian sighed deeply. "Senior Brother Li, stop helping Great Qi. Let things unfold naturally. The storyteller is gone now—pretend they never existed."

These words made Li Huowang’s head buzz. “Wait, I need to sort this out.” He turned and left the carriage.

Gao Zhijian waited inside the canopy for a moment before speaking, “This should have been your job to tell him. Why did you make me?”

Xuan Pin’s towering figure slowly rose from beneath the canopy. “Since you’ve taken on the role of villain, then be a complete villain. I don’t want my father to hate me.”

“Your father is a fool who confuses the root and branch!”

After venting his frustration, Gao Zhijian sighed deeply. “Do you think Senior Brother Li will listen?”

“No, but now is the time to tell him. When faced with a real choice, he will weigh it.”

“Why can’t he see things from my perspective? I really don’t want to be the villain.”

“As I said before, since you are the Emperor of Great Liang, you’re destined to be on a different path from him. Just do what you must do.”

“I regret it now. I shouldn’t have become emperor,” Gao Zhijian pulled out a bag of spirit meat from his sleeve, closed his eyes, and inhaled deeply.

When he opened his eyes again, the look of inner turmoil had faded, and he was once more the formidable Emperor of Great Liang.

"Between Qingqiu and Hou Shu, do you think it’s feasible to make Nanping and Siqi into flying territories of Great Liang?"

"Xuan Pin is of the Astronomical Bureau. According to ancestral rules, she may not involve herself in court affairs."

"Hmm." Gao Zhijian pondered for a moment, then waved his robe gently. "Return to the palace. Summon the six ministers."

Li Huowang wandered along the road in a daze, his mind still reeling from Gao Zhijian’s words.

If Great Qi was real, then Great Liang was false. If Great Liang was real, then Great Qi was false. Which side was truly real?

They weren’t parallel worlds. Rather, they were two different possibilities that branched off from a single point a thousand years ago.

Yet somehow, these alternate realities coexisted in an eerie synchronicity—a strange and inexplicable phenomenon.

“What the hell is going on with this world?” Li Huowang groaned in pain.

“It’s gone mad,” said a voice.

Li Huowang looked up and saw Jizai in the water before him.

Seeing his future self reflected in the water, he asked, “What else?”

“That’s all. The rest I cannot speak of because I haven’t spoken of it yet.”

“You think I need you to tell me the world is mad? Do I not have eyes? Get lost!”

“Indeed, one is missing,” Jizai said, and his body reverted to a reflection.

Li Huowang knelt beside the water, cupped the water, and splashed it on his face to clear his thoughts.

When he shook his head, drying his hair, he realized he had somehow appeared next to Niu Xin Village.

He had used his cultivation to travel from Niu Xin Village to Shangjing in two days and nights. But just now, he’d returned in mere moments—how?

When he entered the village, he saw Gouwa eagerly waving to greet him. “Senior Brother Li, why are you back so early this year?”

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